Fordham University’s Ravazzin Center has been awarded a $500,000 grant by Westchester County for its work with the Children and Family Institute.

The Ravazzin Center, located in West Harrison, is an extension of Fordham’s Westchester campus and is part of the Graduate School for Social Service.

The grant money will be used to evaluate a program to reduce homelessness for children in foster care. Graduate school researchers will evaluate a model that includes outreach, education, employment opportunities, and connections with families and support systems. The research team will assess a network of peer-to-peer “navigators,” who are foster-care teens who help others navigate the social service system.

The Ravazzin Center spent the last two years studying how Westchester County helps foster care youth. The research revealed a gap in communications that led to implementing the peer-to-peer approach.

College of New Rochelle

Appoints Two Deans

There will be new faces on the campus of The College of New Rochelle. The school has appointed Dr. David Donnelly as dean of the Graduate School and Dr. Kristine Southard as dean of the School of New Resources. Dr. Donnelly will also serve as interim dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Donnelly had served as interim dean of the Graduate School since September 2015. He was director of continuing education at Sarah Lawrence College, dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., and dean of the College for Graduate Studies at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. He has served as a visiting research fellow at the McGannon Center at Fordham University.

Dr. Southard joined the School of New Resources in 1994 as a faculty member. In 2002, she was named director of the college’s Co-op City campus, which reached capacity under her leadership. Working with state and local politicians, she helped secured government grants that enhanced campus technology with smart classrooms and computer labs. In 2012, she was named assistant vice president for academic affairs. Last year, she was named interim dean of the School of New Resources.

Former Iona Athletes

Compete in Rio Olympics

Two former Iona College student-athletes had a large cheering section back in New Rochelle during the Olympic Games in Rio de Juneiro. Leonard Korirand Maya Rehberg starred for the cross-country and track and field programs at Iona. They are the first Olympians in school history.

Leonard Korir, a 2012 graduate, represented the United States in the 10,000-meter run. He finished third at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., to earn his spot on the team. The American 10K trio consists of Korir, Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kipchirchir. A specialist in the U.S. Army, Korir is a motor transport operator.

He was the first NCAA champion in Iona history after winning the indoor 5,000-meter championship as a junior in 2011. He repeated the feat that spring with a 10,000-meter title in outdoor track. He was an eight-time All-American in cross-country and track and field, two-time NCAA Northeast Regional Champion and six-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion, 2009-2011.

Maya Rehberg is representing Germany in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

She was the silver medalist at the Deutsche Meisterschaften (German Championships) in Kassel, Germany, in June in 9:46.58. Her personal-best time of 9:39.18 came two weeks earlier in Prague, Czech Republic. She was announced as a German national team member in July.

Ms. Rehberg had one of the top freshmen campaigns of any Iona women in program history before returning to Germany to pursue her professional running career. She set the Iona record in the steeplechase at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Eugene. Her time of 9:55.73 remains the only sub-10 minute time in school history.